


Dinner Date

by wildfox



Series: Homewrecker AU [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern, Based on a Tumblr Post, Cheating, Dad!Jace, M/M, ceo!alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 17:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12753147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildfox/pseuds/wildfox
Summary: Alec, Magnus and Jace have a chat. Madzie and Céline have some ice cream. Things are bad, and then they aren't.





	Dinner Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of my Homewrecker series, and you should definitely read the first two parts to really understand it. For now this series is finished, but I would love to revisit it in the future.   
> Enjoy!

The drive to the ice cream parlor is a very awkward one. Jace doesn't drive, so Magnus suggests that Alec should drive him and Céline there, while he drives Madzie. Alec protests to it, almost as if he's scared Magnus will run off with their daughter and never come back. He doesn't have a good excuse, though, and seven minutes later, he finds himself sitting next to Jace in his luxury car, Céline sitting in the car seat in the back that was usually reserved for Madzie.

"I'm sorry." Jace finally broke the silence. Although his voice is just a whisper, it reverberated in the car.

"It's not your fault." Alec sighed, fingers tightly wrapped around the steering wheel. "You know, if he asks me to—" The man stopped talking, Adam's apple bobbing furiously.

"If he asks you to leave me, you will." Jace doesn't look at him, mismatched eyes trained on the road, only deviating to turn to Céline every once in a while. "I know, I knew it when we first got together." He isn't particularly happy about it, but he won't fight it.

"I wish things were different."

"Me too."

When they get to the ice cream shop, Magnus isn't there yet and Alec absolutely panics, thinking that his husband did, indeed, run away with their daughter. Jace reassures him that Magnus would never do that, but he didn't really know if it was true. He didn't know Magnus, and in hindsight, he didn't really know Alec either. All he knew about them was what little Alec had said, and it could all be lies, for all Jace knew.

Before Alec can do much beyond hyperventilate, Magnus walks inside the parlor with his daughter in his hand, a large smile on his lips. It makes Jace wonder if he had been late on purpose, just to see Alec squirm. It was definitely something Jace would've done, and he wouldn't put it past a man with such a deviant smile.

The girls pick their ice cream enthusiastically, both blissfully unaware of the situation their parents find themselves in. Magnus doesn't let Jace pay for it, and he has such a kind smile it doesn't even feel like the power play Jace expected it to be.

Madzie and Céline are sitting next to each other, faces lathered in ice cream as they speak to each other in that toddler language that Jace always adored, but he couldn't focus on it. Not when he was sitting between Magnus and Alec in the round table, hands fiddling with the watch wrapped on his wrist as he avoided looking at either of them. The silence was unbearable, though the blond was certain that speaking would only make things worse.

"Since when have you known?" Alec finally spoke up, and although Jace doesn't look up at him, he can guess Alec isn't looking at Magnus either.

"That depends. When did it start?" Alec's husband sounds calm, collected, not at all what Jace is expecting. He thinks the only reason the man isn't causing a scene is because of the children, but when Jace looks back to him, he doesn't see anything but mild amusement in his eyes.

"Two weeks ago." It's Jace who answered, because Alec doesn't seem like he can find his words. "It— We. We only happened twice."

Twice, if you didn't count the flirty texts and nearly daily phone sex.

Magnus sighed, his eyes going from Jace to Alec. "I wish you had told me." There's a rather long pause, like he isn't going to keep talking. Alec opens his mouth, and then closes it just as Magnus starts talking again. "Could've spared me a very awkward conversation with Catarina."

"I'm sorry." Alec spoke, head down. Jace feels like he's intruding on a very personal conversation, but he knew it was one Magnus had wanted him to hear: had demanded his presence, in fact, taking Jace's daughter as ransom. He couldn't simply yank Céline away from her friend, not without causing a scene, and that was the last thing he wanted at the moment. He wondered if it was Magnus' way of revenge, forcing Jace to sit there and helplessly watch Alec reject him. "You're not that innocent either, Magnus." There's a fire in Alec's eyes, and all Jace wants to do is melt into the floor and disappear. "I read your texts. I know you have someone else too."

For a brief second, Magnus looks surprised. His calm demeanor shifts into wide eyes and agape lips, and Jace is left in wonder as he watches the other man panic. But, just as quickly as he breaks, Magnus collects himself. "You're not wrong. I haven't fucked him on our bed, though."

Jace hisses, instinct taking over as his mismatched eyes fly back to the children sitting opposite of them. Madzie and Céline are still babbling to each other, and show no sign of having listened to Magnus' crude words. The man doesn't apologize for the curse word, but he looks decently guilty. Despite the warning hiss, Jace doesn't have the courage to call him out on it, simply slumping his shoulders forward and bringing his eyes back to the watch wrapped around his wrist; it had been a birthday gift from Clary, and Jace didn't think he had ever taken it off.

"So your problem is not that I'm seeing someone else, but the fact that I—" Alec stopped, eyes darting to the girls before it goes back to Magnus. "That I brought him home?"

"Without telling me." Magnus reinforced, and his tone is almost bored, even if his face shows the seriousness of the situation. "You brought him home without telling me. I was going to introduce you to Ragnor when the time was right, but I didn't bring him to our bed before that."

"Ragnor? I thought her name was Camille." Alec's head cocks to the side, and Jace can't believe that he's focusing on that part of Magnus' speech. He absentmindedly noticed that Alec had told him, a week ago, that he didn't know Magnus' mistress' name; it makes him wonder if Alec had been lying, or if something had happened in the past week.

"God, no. Camille is the devil incarnate." He shook his head. "His name is Ragnor. He's a writer, we met a few months ago; we were just friends at first, if you're wondering."

"Okay, what the actual fuck is going on?" Jace finally breaks. He doesn't even mind swearing in front of his kid, head raising as he turned to look from Magnus to Alec, then back to Magnus.

Alec doesn't answer, and from the look in his face, he doesn't really know what's happening either. "Alec and I are life partners, Jonathan."

"Jace."

"Jace. We've been together for fifteen years, and will be for another fifteen. And no, we aren't in a relationship anymore, not a romantic one, at least. We're still in this for life, so I would've appreciated the least of decency when he decided to start dating again." Magnus sighed. "I don't mind him seeing other people. It would be selfish of me to keep him bound to a ruined marriage. What I mind, is that he went about it behind my back." The man looks up to Alec with fond eyes. "You were never good at communicating, I shouldn't have been surprised."

Jace doesn't know what to say. He looks up at Alec, trying to figure out what the man is thinking; he can't tell, because Alec is looking at Magnus like he's never seen him before.

"I have to go— Work." Jace mumbles, pushing himself out of his chair, ready to drag Céline away.

"Let Alec drive you." Magnus said, in a commanding tone that fit him so well. "I'm sure you two need to talk."

They don't talk. In fact, Alec and Jace don't talk to each other at all in the week following the play date, and Jace is pretty certain things are over between them. He isn't surprised; no matter how weird his conversation with Magnus at the ice cream parlor had been, no matter how accepting Magnus had been, Alec had still cheated on his husband, and got caught. He was probably too busy groveling for Magnus' attention to properly end things with Jace, and while Jace doesn't really blame him, it does make him feel a little but worthless.

That is, until Alec called him Friday night, just before his shift ended.

"What?" Jace's one word is a lot harsher than he meant it to be, but he doesn't regret it.

"...Hi. It's me, Alec." The voice comes hesitant, almost like Alec is unsure of himself.

"I know, I have caller ID." Jace rolled his eyes, sighing. "What do you need, Alec?" He forces himself to speak in a softer tone, trying to sound just a little bit less rude.

"I... I'm sorry I didn't call. I was in Dubai most of the week, and by the time I came back there was some trouble at the office and I didn't have time."

"Oh, so it had nothing to do with your husband?" Jace's tone is full of poison, and he can't help but feel a little bit victorious when he hears Alec's breath hitch on the other side of the line.

"No, it really didn't. I told you I'm a busy man, Jace— I should've let you know I was going away, but with how we left things off, I wasn't sure if you even wanted me to call."

"Well, you're calling now. Why?"

"Magnus— He wants me to meet Ragnor. You know, the guy he's been seeing. And he also wants to meet you. In a... Less hostile environment."

It stuns Jace into a long silence, and he only speaks again when Alec calls for him, thinking the line had been cut off.

"You don't call for an entire week, and when you do is to invite me to a double date with your husband and his side dick."

"Uh... When you put it like that it sounds weird, but I promise it'll be fine."

"I'll be there." Jace sighed. "And where is there, exactly?"

As it turned out, 'there' just so happened to be Alec and Magnus' apartment, at the large round table on the even larger balcony. The first night Jace had spent in Alec's bed he was too drunk and too preoccupied to really pay attention to his surroundings, and now that he could actually take in their home, he was impressed. He knew Alec was rich: because of the clothes he wore, the car he drove, the travels he did for work. He hadn't known just how rich he was, though, and sitting in his balcony looking out at the skyline of Manhattan, Jace couldn't help but feel out of place. Magnus' side piece – boyfriend? – didn't help either, with his English accent and intelligent look, Ragnor seemed to fit in perfectly. Not Jace, though, with his tattooed arms and cotton shirt. Alec smiled at him, then, from across the room while he tried to bring out the salad, and everything was perfect.

"Ragnor doesn't eat meat, so Magnus did a vegetarian whatever for tonight. I hope you don't mind." Alec apologized, placing the salad on the table and taking a seat next to Jace. "I promise next time we'll focus on you." Jace's blue and brown eyes traveled for a moment to Ragnor, who was standing near the edge of the balcony, a rather nervous look in his face.

"It's fine. Everything is fine." Jace smiled, placing a soft kiss on Alec's cheek. Indeed, everything was fine.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any prompts you'd like to see turned into a Jalec short story, feel free to leave it in the comments or message me at daddvrios.tumblr.com!


End file.
